Serious public health issues arise due to the abuse, misuse, diversion, and overdose of medications that remain at the end of a course of treatment. For instance, the abuse, misuse, diversion and overdose of opioid-based analgesics pose particularly pertinent public health issues given the effects and susceptibility of abuse of opioid-based analgesics. It is often the case that after a course of treatment, or as a result of the patient not completing the full treatment, there may be excess medication remaining that should be disposed of.
In many instances, individuals simply retain the medication. Oftentimes these medications are stored with other pharmaceutical products or the like. Alternatively, the medication may simply be placed in the trash or some other non-secure disposal means. In either instance, access to the medication remains, such that the medication may be abused, misused, stolen, sold, or otherwise mishandled. Unauthorized access to these improperly disposed of medications by individuals without a prescription may lead to abuse, allergic reaction, or even death.
In some instances, take back programs have been instituted that allow users to request shipping materials in order to ship used or unused medication to a certified disposal company. These programs tend to be costly and require actions by the patient at multiple times. However, in many instances remaining medication is simply disposed of in an insecure or unsafe manner such as, for instance, by being flushed down a toilet, by being thrown in the trash, or by being retained in a medicine cabinet or other location in a person's home.